Update:
All three Alameda high school men's basketball teams won their respective first round North Coast Section (NCS) playoff games. The Alameda High School men's basketball team defeated Acalanes High of of Lafayette, 72-49, in the first round of the NCS Div. II basketball tournament Wednesday, Feb. 16. The Hornets were in control for most of the game. Their big advantage came at the three-point line. The Hornets shot 45% from downtown, while the Dons shot just 25%. They will face Montgomery of Santa Rosa in the second round on the road Saturday, Feb. 19.

The Encinal High School men's team will continue its season after a 48-44 upset win over Piner High of Santa Rosa, Tuesday, Feb. 15, on the road, in the first round of the NCS Div. III tournament. The Jets entered the contest as the 11th seed, while Piner was the sixth seed. The Jets will face three-seed Piedmont High School in the quarterfinals Friday, Feb. 18, on the road.

The biggest upset of maybe the entire NCS tournament brackets was St. Joseph Notre Dame's men's team defeating Arcata High, 55-51, in the NCS Div. IV tournament on Feb. 16. The Pilots were the 15 seed out of 16 teams. Arcata was the second seed. The Pilots entered the game with a 4-17 overall record. All that did not matter in the Pilots' road victory. They will face the 10-seed Stuart Hall of San Francisco on the road, in the quarterfinal round Saturday.

Women's basketball
The reigning NCS Div. II women's champ Alameda Hornets started their repeat bid with a 73-41 victory over Rancho Cotate of Rohnert Park on Wednesday. The Hornets broke the game open in the second quarter when they outscored their opponents 25-8. Alameda High will face Casa Grande of Petaluma in the second round Saturday on the round.

The Jets were bounced out of the NCS Div. III women's tournament after a 53-35 loss to Maria Carrillo of Santa Rosa last Tuesday. The Jets' season ends with an 8-10 overall record.

Original Story:
The Alameda High School (AHS) men's basketball team (16-7) defeated the Encinal High School (EHS) men's team (11-8), 49-44, on Saturday, Feb. 12, on the Jets' home court.

The game was the season finale for both teams. The Hornets spoiled the Jets' Senior Night. The Hornets were in control for most of the game. They led 10-5 at the end of the first quarter, and 30-20 at halftime. It was Alameda's second victory over Encinal in a week. The Hornets defeated the Jets, 57-54, on Feb. 5 at home.

AHS finished the season winning six of its last eight contests including a 60-52 victory over St. Joseph Notre Dame (SJND) on Feb. 7. The Hornets' two losses during that stretch was a 68-62 overtime loss to Piedmont High on Feb. 4 and a 54-41 loss to Bishop O'Dowd of Oakland on Feb. 11. Alameda finished in third place in the West Alameda County Conference (WACC)-Foothill League. They went 8-4 in league play. Their four losses were at the hands of Piedmont and Bishop O'Dowd who both beat the Hornets twice this season.

EHS won three in a row before losing to AHS. The Jets finished in second place in the WACC-Shoreline League with a 7-2 league record.

The Jets and Hornets had to play multiple rescheduled games in the last two weeks, which led to a hectic end of the season for both teams. Encinal played eight games between Feb. 1 and the season finale on Feb. 12, while Alameda played nine games during this period.

All three Alameda high school men’s teams qualified for the North Coast Section (NCS) playoffs. The Hornets are seeded fifth in the 16-team NCS Div. II men’s playoffs. They will face Acalanes High of Lafayette on Wednesday, Feb. 16, at home in the first round. The Hornets will look to make a deep run in the playoffs as they did in 2020 when they advanced to the championship game. They lost the title game to De Anza High of Richmond, 57-48.

The Jets are seeded 11th in the 16-team NCS Div. III men’s playoffs. They will face Piner High of Santa Rosa, Tuesday, Feb. 15, on the road in the first round. SJND (4-17) is seeded 15th in the 16-team NCS Div. IV men’s playoffs. The Pilots will face Arcata High School Wednesday on the road in the first round.

Women’s basketball
The AHS women’s team (11-7) are also seeded fifth in the 14-team NCS Div. II women’s basketball playoff. They will face Rancho Cotate High of Rohnert Park on Wednesday at home in the first round. (The AHS men’s home playoff game will start after the women’s playoff game). The Hornets are still the reigning NCS Div. II champions. They beat Montgomery High of Santa Rosa, 58-39, to win the title in 2020. (All NCS postseason tournaments were canceled in 2021).

The EHS women’s team are seeded 12th in the 16-team NCS Div. III women’s playoff. The Jets (8-9) will face Maria Carrillo High of Santa Rosa on Tuesday, on the road in the first round. The SJND women’s team did not qualify for a postseason tournament.